Parade Stadium was located in a Minneapolis City Park called the Parade.

The name dated back to 1904 when some of the land was next to the Kenwood National Guard Armory (demolished in 1934), and was used as a parade ground by the guard.

Construction of the current stadium began in 1950.  It was temporarily halted due to a Korean War construction moratorium, but the City got an exemption and the stadium opened in the summer of 1951.   The stadium was planned as a 17,000 football stadium with 600 parking spaces; there was also a 4,000-seat baseball stadium.

The first major event at the stadium was a 1951 Aquatennial appearance by the Lone Ranger and his horse, Silver.  For many years Parade Stadium was the starting point for both Aquatennial parades each year.

Parade Stadium was the site of many outdoor concerts and festivals in the ’60s and ’70s: 30,000 people came to a Melissa Manchester concert in June 1976, and the gates were crashed and the goal post bent during a near-riot at a Fleetwood Mac concert. The last major concert there featured Simon and Garfunkel in July 1983.

An ice arena and Sculpture Garden were built in 1988, and the changes edged out the aging stadium. Parade Stadium was demolished in 1990.  The park remains, at Hennepin Ave. to I-394, between Vineland Ave. and Wayzata Blvd.   It is 45.77 acres, including 2.32 acres of water. This is 21 acres less than the original park, due to land lost to the construction of I-94 and I-394.

Minneapolis Park Historian David C. Smith has written a very detailed history of Minneapolis parks, including Parade Stadium.   Also see the entry on Minnopedia, also by Smith.

The Parade complex, 1952, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Post-event photo from 1977, courtesy Alan Freed